Photos of Central Downtown Paso Robles at Dusk

I Love Downtown Paso Robles at Dusk

The sun is no longer bright and the signs of the businesses around the park are beginning to light up. People walk in the park because in summer and early autumn it's cooler than in the daytime. On this October 1 walk, even the moon was making an appearance. Below is a popular attraction, the Park Cinemas Theater.

Park Cinemas Theater, Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

Here's a slightly different view available as both poster and postcard from Zazzle.

Poster: Park Cinemas Downtown Paso Robles, CA PosterPostcard, Park-Cinemas, Paso Robles, CA Postcard

Parking in Downtown Paso Robles Around the Park

Good luck with that. The more popular Paso Robles becomes, the harder it is to find a parking place with a block or two of the park. At night on weekends it's almost impossible. Very few businesses supply parking, so most parking is on the street. I circled the park twice and even contemplated parking at the library and walking three blocks to get to Studios on the Park Saturday night. I finally found a place two blocks away on Park and 11th Street in a handicapped space (Yes, I have a placard) beside the park. As I walked toward my destination, I saw others still looking for a parking place.

Parking is scarce in Paso Robles on Saturday night, © B. Radisavljevic

An Old-Fashioned Sweet Shop

Got a sweet tooth you want to indulge while strolling around downtown? Try Powell's. Last time I looked it had all the candy bars and sweet treats the stores used to carry but are hard to find in stores now. I thought they'd stopped making them until I visited the Powell's SLO Sweets Candy Store.  Evidently the name is in transition. You'll find the store on the corner of 11th Street and Pine. It's in an historic building that used to house the Municipal Bathhouse around 1905.  Do you see the moon lurking behind the palm tree?

The Candy Store, © B. Radisavljevic

Pine Street at Dusk

There isn't room in this post to show you all the buildings on Pine Street between 11th and 12th across from the city park. I will show you these. As you cross Pine Street on 11th, you will be in front of the Park Cinemas. (Top photo) Walk west toward Studios on the Park and these are some businesses you will pass.

Red Scooter and Good Times (hidden behind tree) © B. Radisavljevic 

The Red Scooter is a deli open for breakfast and lunch. I've never tried it. After checking out their menu, I just may try it soon.  I've had lunch several times at the Good Times Cafe and been satisfied. It resembles a fifties burger hang-out. Or you could eat at the Paso Robles Inn across from the park on Spring Street for a more formal atmosphere. The food there is delicious. If you walk around the streets surrounding the park you'll find almost any kind of food you desire being served at one of the many restaurants on 11th Street, Pine Street, and 12th Street.

Walk a bit further on Pine Street past Good Times Cafe and you'll be in front of Pappy McGregor's Irish Pub. If you eat there you can choose sidewalk dining or eat inside. I've haven't eaten there since it was the Crooked Kilt years ago. It's only a few yards more from there to Studios on the Park -- my destination for the evening. I was not looking for food, but for a feast of art for my eyes.

Pappy McGregor's and Studios on the Park on Pine Street, © B. Radisavljevic

Souvenirs from Downtown Paso Robles

Clock Tower Downtown Paso Robles Postage




These are some other scenes you will find downtown very near the park. At Zazzle you will find even more Paso Robles designs. There are also more  product options for these designs. 

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Poster: Sidewalk Dining in Paso Robles, California PosterClock Tower Downtown Paso Robles PostcardPostcard: Superior Court, Paso Robles, California Postcard

The Paso Robles City Park at Dusk

Since the park covers two city blocks in the center of downtown, I will not even attempt to get all of it in this post. Its most famous landmark is the historic Carnegie Library, now the home of the Paso Robles Historical Society. Did you see the statue of Paderewski in front of it? Paderewski loved Paso Robles. We outgrew the original library and build a new one. Tour the new library here. It's across the street from the park and shares a building with the City of Paso Robles City Hall.

Historic Carnegie Library in City Park, © B. Radisavljevic 

The other structure most Paso Robles locals think of in connection with City Park is the bandstand. It's used for special events and for the summer concerts in the park. It's also where some teens hang out in the afternoon. I'll devote an entire post to it soon. But to close this post I'll just give you one shot of it. See how tall the trees are in comparison? To the left is a glimpse of our brand new playground. We will also devote a future post to that.

If you don't live in Paso Robles, what first impression do you get of it from these photos of our downtown?


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What's Wrong with Loitering in City Park?

Early this evening I decided to take a short walk through the downtown City Park in Paso Robles. As I was walking thorough the park, I saw the sign I have pictured here. Since this a park where people walk a lot on the walkways, I can understand why the rules state that skateboarding and skates are forbidden. We have another park for skateboarders and skaters. Most of the other rules also make sense. But at least two of the rules were broken while I was at the park  today, and I can't imagine anyone enforcing them.

The second rule is "No dogs allowed." Good luck with that. I understand the reason for the rule, but maybe it would be  better to make the rule against not cleaning up after your dog. Many people walk just in order to walk their dogs. Since the city has forbidden dogs, it doesn't have the bags in this park to clean up after dogs like many other parks do. This is what I saw this afternoon. Seems pretty innocent to me. (I took this with a zoom, so the Paso Robles Inn across Spring Street looks much closer than it really is.)

Then there is the rule about no loitering. This one really threw me. I thought that's what parks were for. People like to hang around and talk to their friends, picnic, sleep under trees, and any number of harmless activities that could be called loitering.

The only reason I see for this rule is so that police can ask rowdy groups or large groups that look like they might be plotting mischief to leave. I would think if someone is causing a disturbance or committing a crime, that would be reason enough to remove them. I'm guessing that this is one of those rules enforced very selectively to try to prevent trouble that may be brewing before a law is broken.

People Relaxing under Trees at City Park

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L is for Library

When I think of our local library, I now think of the newer Paso Robles Library. It replaced our old historic Carnegie Library that remains in City Park as the home of the Paso Robles Historical Society. This is the new library pictured here. It is not as easy as the old library to get into one photograph. It runs the length of an entire city block.

Paso Robles Library, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

This is the view of the entrance from the parking lot. To the left of the building is the conference room where meetings are held, including City Council Meetings.  The library occupies the entire first floor. The City Hall occupies the entire second floor. The oak tree shades the benches where people often sit to read or rest outside. You can see that it's taller than the two story building, and also very wide.

Part of Library Gift Shop in hallway. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

When you enter the library from this direction, almost the first thing you see to the left are the restrooms and the hallway that houses the outside part of the gift shop. The gift shop is run by the Friends of the Library and features new merchandise, much of it educational and appealing to children and young people. The part you see on the carts in the hallways are magazines, used books and library discards being sold at thrift store prices. They are wheeled out each day when the store opens,  and taken in each evening when the store closes.

Children's Department of Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

Today I went into the children's department, and it's quite large. I wanted to show you this view of it because of the little boy using the computer. The library has a separate computer room, but this young man was happily occupied here. Maybe it's only a catalog, but it seemed to keep him happier for longer than a catalog would. You can find him under the bulletin board in the middle of the room past the video case in the foreground.

Art Wall in Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

The library often features displays of artwork on the wall beside the ramp that leads down to the reference room and adult stacks. The featured artist when I was there today was Sandra MacGillivray, someone whose work I had not seen before. She is from New Mexico, but lived for years in Paso Robles on a ranch that later became a vineyard. She studied under our local artists Nancy Becker and Rosey Rosenthal, and once was the director of the Sculptor Art Gallery in Paso Robles. After the death of her husband, she moved back to New Mexico, but is evidently back in Paso Robles for at least a visit.

Adult Stacks and Reference Department in Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

Of course for many of us, the most important part of the library is its books. This is a view of the adult department looking down from the periodicals department. In the center front is the reference desk. On both sides of it you will find fiction. In the back you see the nonfiction stacks. Mysteries and science fiction are at the very back.

The bank of windows on the left appears as a large curved wall on the outside of the building. That's one of the reasons it's so hard to photograph that side from the outside. Those windows look out on City Park across the street.

Our library is very user friendly, although it appears the some of the tables and chairs where people used to sit and read (or sleep) have disappeared. Many of the homeless used to gather in that section. I'm wondering if there's a connection. It could also be that more bookcases are taking up the room the tables and large chairs used to.

How large is your public library? Is it an older or newer building. What does it have besides books? Does it sell any used books or magazines?

Part of Library Gift Shop in hallway. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

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Large Oaks Near the Old Carnegie Library in the Paso Robles City Park

I'm taking it easy today, so this post will be short. Most of my readers have figured out that I love the oak trees that live near me. Paso Robles is named for its oaks, They were here before the almond trees or the grape vines that later brought Paso Robles to national attention.

Some of the city's largest oaks are downtown, and some dwell in the City Park. That is where this one lives. It is next to the old Carnegie Library, now the Historical Museum. This photo was taken around February a few years ago as it was beginning to get dark.

To see a view of more of the park's trees and the old library building itself, which has become a landmark to all who love Paso Robles,  I show you this photo. The tree above is just one of the large oaks in the City Park. This photo shows you more of them, as well as some of the other trees. The photo was taken in June, 2011, before the restrooms you see in the background were replaced. The Old Carnegie Library building is not small, but you can see how the trees dwarf it.

Does your city have one of the original Carnegie libraries? Does it have large oak trees?

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